Brazil Rocks!

My wife and best friends left today for Rio de Janeiro, Brazil to spread a little Jesus with the natives. We're going to try using Skype to keep in touch while they're there.

Jealous? Nah! Have a Great Time!

* UPDATE * Skype works great and it's free!

Mere Christianity

Here are a few snippets I pulled from one of my favorite books on being a Christian from Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis.

"Here is another thing that used to puzzle me. Is it not frightfully unfair that this new life should be confined to people who have heard of Christ and been able to believe in Him?  But the truth is God has not told us what His arrangements about the other people are.  We do know that no man can be saved except through Christ; we do not know that only those who know Him can be saved through Him."  [Ch. 5, page 64]

"The world does not consist of 100 percent Christians and 100 percent non-Christians.  There are people (a great many of them) who are slowly ceasing to be Christians but who still call themselves by that name: some of them are clergymen."  [Ch. 10, page 208]

"There are other people who are slowly becoming Christians though they do not yet call themselves so.  There are people who do not accept the full Christian doctrine about Christ but who are so strongly attracted by Him that they are His in a much deeper sense than they themselves understand."  [Ch. 10, pages 208-209]

"There are people in other religions who are being led by God’s secret influence to concentrate on those parts of their religion which are in agreement with Christianity, and who thus belong to Christ without knowing it."  [Ch. 10, page 209]

Good Stuff in these troubled times... IMHO :-D

To be fair, Lewis has been criticized by many Christians for being an Inclusivist, believing that salvation can come to those never hearing the name "Jesus" and possibly even after one's earthly death (we are, after all, eternal beings).

“Though all salvation is through Jesus, we need not conclude that He cannot save those who have not explicitly accepted Him in this life.” [page 102, God in the Dock by C.S. Lewis]

After all, (my) God is "all powerful" and does as He pleases.

Velvet Elvis

Like most information junkies, I have a reading list a mile long. Stacks of books gathering dust on my bedside table, the back of the Crapper and beside my favourite comfy chair (much to my wife's dismay). I think books attract dust even better than my electro-statically charged TV tube. Don't get me wrong, I've actually read some of these books all the way through. Some I've started and for one reason or another, usually just "life", I haven't finished it.
One book I've been determined to read (and finish) is Velvet Elvis: Repainting the Christian Faith by Rob Bell. All my friends have read it. Our Youth Pastor has taught from it. Several copies have been given to our Senior Pastor... given... but read?!?!

Anyway, everyone seems to gloat over this book. They get the big eyes, glowing... cock their head slightly to the side and murmur, "Yeah... you gotta read that". Now I know why. Wow. (Can I use an exclamation mark here?) Wow!

This book crystallizes so many things from my own thoughts and beliefs. It's almost scary. I keep thinking "I could've written this, cuz' that exactly what I think." Of course I couldn't have, but it almost seems like reading a priori knowledge... I've thought this before... Deja Vu!

Rob has a writing style that is very easy and flowing. He makes his points very concisely using only a few examples and only end noting scripture and book references. It's been purely a joy to read.

I highly recommend it to everyone. Any new or non-Christian might want to have a bible handy to look up the references he uses. Other than that, it is a joyful and inspired read about ancient and modern beliefs from a Judeo-Christian perspective.